Devilfish's year of adventures

Yokohama - Zoorasia

I visited Zoorasia today. It was one of my two 'must-see' collections during the trip and so I was pleased to make it to Yokohama.

A lot of the older enclosures could do with some improvement, and many animals with more space, but the majority of enclosures seem more than adequate for their inhabitants.

The ticket desks were shuttered up on my arrival shortly after opening, but the tickets are apparently sold using vending machines.

After seeing the elephants, the zoo's second enclosure was an aviary marked on the map for "Rotschild's mynah, and more" which also housed a New Caledonian pigeon, Ducula goliath. A pleasant surprise. Similar surprises popped up throughout the day. One of these manifested as a small walkthrough aviary which had only larger birds; I wondered why and found a Japanese sparrowhawk labelled as an inhabitant. It wasn't in the aviary, so was either off-show or a bunch of bony feathers on a high branch might have been sparrowhawk rather than sparrowhawk dinner.

Sadly, the douc langurs are off-show, but the proboscis monkeys were higher priority for me. Unfortunately these were off-show too. I later found a sign at the entrance which warned of this, as well as the absence of otters ('chinensis' subspecies Eurasian otters ) and Japanese macaques. My only other no-show was the Japanese badger : a notable absence despite my 12 + visits to the enclosure.

Besides the native animals and rare langurs, another strength of the zoo is its African animal collection . This includes Okapi and Congo Peafowl. Chimpanzees are housed in an impressive enclosure with full access to many of the taller trees - fantastic to watch the chimps swinging around the treetops. Another impressive exhibit is the new African Savannah; the main paddock holds just giraffe, zebra and eland, zebra and giraffes. And a cheetah. Very interesting to watch the wary zebras' behaviour.

There was still snow on the ground in parts of the zoo but fortunately the weather held up. It was really nice to walk the forested paths through the zoo.

One of the things I liked was how considerate of visitors the design of the zoo seemed to be: toilets pop up frequently; Braille signs on handrails tell the visually impaired people what's in the enclosure; outdoor lifts are offered as an alternative to tall staircases, and many other examples.

All in all : enclosures - average/good with some outstanding examples. Animals - brilliant selection. Forested route around the zoo - great.
I really liked this zoo.
 
devilfish said:
I'm brimming with excitement and emotion so I've had to skip a couple of days*of reviews (3 aquaria) and jump to today, my day in Yokohama. Just a few weeks ago I was trying to think what my best unexpected animal find in a zoo was. I can't begin to imagine that anything will ever top today's. (To put carnivore enthusiasts out of their misery, it wasn't an Iriomote cat. It wasn't even a mammal, or a bird).
Anyway, let's not drag things out. So that I don't completely ruin chronology, I'll start with Zoorasia - but that's not where I saw the treasure!
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I think I know what the animal is, and if it is so then I am jealous!! Very very jealous!
 
Yokohama - Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise was a 'maybe' for today. Zoorasia had priority but if I had time I had hoped to come and visit - mainly for the whale shark, which I wasn't sure if they still had. I'm so glad I did!
Despite also being in Yokohama, it's about 2 hours between the two collections.

It turns out that Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is a huge outdoor complex of restaurants, rides and four separate aquarium attractions. Because of this, an entry ticket for the aquaria costs* ¥3000 for a day ticket.

*Because I had finished in Zoorasia by 2pm, I arrived at the main aquarium building ('Aqua museum') around 4 and had missed the start of the show. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but they had boasted that the show involves 10 different species, so I was curious. I walked in while the belugas were on, and after a minute I realised that there was something else moving in the stadium tank - it was the whale shark! She seems to share the tank with a small group of golden trevally, and then with hyperactive dolphins and pinnipeds during the shows. I felt very sorry for the giant, swimming (anticlockwise) for years as near to the surface as she could get in a very bland tank. Then I wonder, if these conditions are compatible with survival, why weren't there more whale sharks held in captivity in previous decades? Was the limiting factor diet, large tank availability or just the idea of holding a giant in such conditions?
*
I saw bottlenose dolphins, short - finned pilot whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins and beluga in the show. There was such variation among the bottlenoses I think there may have been more than one species there. I had planned to return for 6 pm for the repeat show. Before temporarily leaving the main aquarium building I thought I'd look at the deep sea creature exhibit on the top floor which was interesting, and displayed some fascinating invertebrates. There were also a stuffed frilled and goblin shark on display, both of which had been held at the aquarium. There was a poster by the goblin shark about its exhibition in 2013 with photos of it in a big tank which I didn't recognise.

I then left Aqua Museum and went into the next building, 'Dolphin fantasy'. While Aqua Museum is a five-storey pyramidal building with a rooftop stadium, dolphin fantasy is a large cuboid with glittering mosaics covering the outer walls. Inside are three sections. The first is the small atrium and gift shop. Next is a large underwater tunnel containing a group of bottlenose dolphins along with some reef fish, with scanty coral and live rock for the fish to shelter. Inside the tunnel were some tables with small biorb tanks holding various shrimp, clownfish and hawkfish.

The third section is a darkened room with an enormous cylindrical tank in the centre, and small jellyfish tanks around the room. There was also a small bar in the corner which opens in the evenings.
The cylindrical tank held several species of juvenile shark, some reef fish and a pair of guitarfish which were extremely difficult to see at the bottom of the tank. Unfortunately there were no animal signs anywhere in this building. I got the impression that this is where the goblin shark photo was taken.

Next, before it got too dark, I visited 'Umi
Farm'. Umi are sea urchins, something of a delicacy especially in Northern Japan. At the start of this experience I was taken into a room to watch a safety film and then left to roam. Apart from the food stall selling fresh urchins, little of what had been advertised was present. No fish tanks, no fishing, no tours - perhaps I just visited too late in the day? Walking between the pens of fish and shellfish I found all the fish congregating around me - quite a nice experience actually, but of course they're just waiting for food. It would have been nice to see them by day and identify these dark forms.

I then went on to the last marine attraction, 'Fureai* [interact] lagoon', effectively a series of outdoor touchpools with a pinniped house. After another safety video you walk out to a series of three cetacean pools: the first is the smallest and holds three bottlenose dolphins and a short - finned pilot whale, the second is currently empty,* and the third holds three beluga which move to the back of the tank when new groups arrive, they approach the people gradually and then squirt/splash them with water.

Rockpools behind these tanks allow visitors to wade in and touch whatever they can see. A couple are out-of-bounds, including a pool of banded houndsharks.

The pinniped building has an underwater tunnel to view sealions, a viewing window with an underfloor glass track which allows the seals to pass underfoot and rise through a nearby cylindrical tank to the surface. No signs here - probably spotted seals* (Phoca largha), I think. A walrus enclosure completes the set, and a raised walkway over the enclosures reveals that African penguins share the seal enclosure.

After touring Fureai lagoon, I quickly passed by Dolphin fantasy again to see if the guitarfish had moved closer. They'd moved across the tank floor but it was no easier to ID them.

I then sped back to Aqua Museum. The show had just started, but I still had 2 floors of the aquarium to see, so I neglected the show and worked my way round floor 1 of the aquarium. Enclosures* for grey seal, walrus, polar bear, penguin and sea otter are the main attractions here, although large viewing windows into both the stadium tank and a large oceanic tank also appeal to most visitors.

A small hydrozoan exhibit shows off a few species of comb jelly and a tank holding hundreds of sea angels. An impressive crowd, and surprisingly much easier to photograph than in other exhibits.

The second floor doesn't hold exhibits* (staff only?) and so an escalator through the Japanese ocean tank takes visitors to the third floor. By the time I was on it, the aquarium was due to close in 15 minutes.* This was the floor where I found my surprise. A one-way route has been created on this floor but you can still get a glimpse of the large shark tank at the end of the escalator trip. In that tank I glimpsed what was undoubtedly a tiger shark! Very rare in captivity. I tried to doubt myself but the broad snout, body shape and stripes were unmistakable. So I decided to rush the rest of the third floor in order to spend a few more minutes with this amazing beast. I gave minimal time to rare cuttlefish and unusual smaller sharks and was about to round a corner when I saw a sign saying "Goblin sharks". I got very excited. I found the tank did indeed hold Goblin sharks!
(For those who don't know what a goblin shark is, perform an image search online. Deep sea sharks; rarely seen, even rarer alive, and very difficult to keep alive at surface level.)

*One of the sharks had just died, and the other seemed to be struggling, positioning itself vertically in the water. It turns out that they had only just gone on exhibit a couple of hours previously, and the aquarium staff told me it was their first attempt to keep them for quite some time. I was so so lucky! I had seen several museum specimens but never imagined I'd ever ever see a live one!

I'd read a blog post about a lady who went to a deep sea aquarium south of Tokyo in 2010 and stumbled across a live frilled shark, but I couldn't imagine it happening to me! Earlier that afternoon I'd been wondering what conditions would have to fall in place for me to have caught a glimpse of something like the white shark in Okinawa had I been able to visit this trip.
I was told that had I visited the 3rd floor of the aquarium earlier that afternoon, I'd likely have missed the goblin shark.
I couldn't believe my luck. Because the tank was dark, it was extremely difficult to take any photos at all, but I have a few - even if they're blurry. I also took a short video but I think that's even shorter than I thought, and much of it is out of focus. But I've seen a live goblin shark, so it's all just a bonus. :D

I spent ages running back to their tank, taking more photos and having limited discussions with various staff. Moving on through the aquarium, the next tank held scalloped hammerheads and the amazing tiger shark! A big beast, over 3.5m long, I imagine (but I'm rubbish at estimating these things). He was also difficult to photograph due to his position, the lighting and his speed. I'll still try to get some photos up. He had been in the aquarium for a month. He'd been very difficult to feed for the first two weeks but had since been doing well and was looking healthy when I saw him. Amazing!

By this point I had three members of staff with me to help usher me out. We did a quick loop of the rest of the third and fourth floors and I left the aquarium almost half an hour after closing.
 
Why you lucky, lucky bastard you:p
With all your discussions with the keepers, do you think it's possible that these rare fish will be heading out West anytime soon?
 
devilfish said:
What did you think it was? :)
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I thought it was a goblin shark! And I am very very jealous.

You actually just missed a frilled shark in that same tank as well! The only reason I knew was because there was a recent post on Zoochat (http://www.zoochat.com/2/have-shark-collections-exhibits-hit-their-411888/index3.html - post #38 onwards) about the sharks, and when you said Yokohama I thought "I hope he got to see that!"

This aquarium sounds huge! From your post at least four cetacean species, at least four pinnipeds, polar bears, sea otters, giant sharks....
 
"Lucky Bastard" strikes me as entirely insufficient :p
 
Chlidonias said:
You actually just missed a frilled shark in that same tank as well! The only reason I knew was because there was a recent post on Zoochat (http://www.zoochat.com/2/have-shark-collections-exhibits-hit-their-411888/index3.html - post #38 onwards) about the sharks, and when you said Yokohama I thought "I hope he got to see that!"
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Thanks! That's amazing, I'd missed that news. The window to see them both alive must have been incredibly small - it seemed like just hours for the goblin sharks. Frilled shark would be good to see next time! ;)
 
Tokyo - Sunshine Aquarium

Back into chronological order, picking up from my first evening in Tokyo (I'm currently on transit in Paris, heading back):

My friend and I were going to head back to the hotel, when I suggested that I should go to the sunshine aquarium. Although I wouldn't have more than 90 minutes there, I thought a brief trip would be better than nothing.

I eventually arrived at 1705. Last entry was 5 minutes previously and the aquarium was due to close at 1800.
I was kindly permitted to visit. An hour or so was still better than nothing. By the end of the visit I was very pleased that I made it here.

The aquarium is spread over 3 floors. Given the rapidly darkening skies after sunset, I decided to start with the outdoor rooftop area. This houses an open enclosure for penguins, a small enclosure for pelicans, and a reasonably small enclosure for sealions, which includes a system of overhead waterways made from acrylic. Very interesting and nice to see them in use.

Also on this floor were a large tank holding giant freshwater fish* (including what looks like an obese Oxydoras sp.) and a series of three glass - fronted enclosures. One held short - clawed otters, and the other two were separated by a very low barrier, with climbing poles connecting the enclosures. This mixed-species exhibit held a variety of animals including tamandua, kinkajou, a huge ring-tailed lemur, armadillo, and a number of ducks.

I then moved on to the indoor area of the* main aquarium. Several fascinating tanks line the route towards the viewing windows for the main tank. Among these are a tank for various Japanese butterflyfish, a cylinder of spotted mackerel, and a tank holding some endemic coldwater marine fish including Japanese swellshark* (which I had been disappointed not to see when I tried to visit Blackpool). Also of note are a small tank for at least two isopod spp., a tank for 'sea angels' (only my second time to see these little invertebrates) and a giant octopus tank. There's so much of interest here - I'll be posting quite a few photos in the gallery once I'm back.

The main tank is pleasant, Japanese Eagle ray and a giant honeycomb ray being the main highlights for me. A good size which would be considered large at any of Merlin ' s 'Sea Life' Aquaria.

Opposite the main viewing window is a small, bland enclosure for what looked like a lone sea otter. An active specimen, and a new subspecies for me.

Around the corner is a cylindrical tank housing an enormous bowmouth guitarfish with Indian mackerel. A fair size, though perhaps a little tight on the guitarfish. I believe that a sunfish previously inhabited this tank - I hope it was only a small specimen! Nearby a set of jellyfish tanks stand, the most notable thing here is a short underwater tunnel for moon jellies.

Next are a fascinating series of tanks for bigfin reef squid, broad-clubbed cuttlefish, various endemic cuttlefish - some only identified to genus level, and a northern flamboyant cuttlefish.

Upstairs on the next level were a number of large freshwater tanks. A lot of standard freshwater species here. A corridor of reptile/amphibian tanks* (including spider tortoises) ends with a viewing area for the Baikal seal tank. Fascinating animals, surprisingly dog-like and very stout. After awkwardly positioning themselves to sleep before my first pass of the tank, they both soon became active and a little more photogenic.

The route then typically continues through the outdoor area, then to the exit. I was out late at 1815 (in what was to be a trend on this trip).

It was really nice to see a decent aquarium with interesting species. Although not enormous, if it was in the UK I'd have easily considered this one of the country's top aquaria.
 
Reading your 'Zoorasia' review I notice there's no mention of Kagu or Crested Argus: 2 species with which this zoo has had some success.
Were they on exhibit?
(If not, it sounds as if quite a few of this collection's 'special' taxa are kept off-show :( )
 
Hi Mike, I didn't see any Kagu (but wasn't sure where they'd be displayed so might have missed them)
1.1 crested argus were on-show with a further 1.0 clearly visible in an off-show aviary.
 
I don't suppose you made species lists at the zoos? That would be really interesting, as Japanese zoos aren't featured much on Zoochat.
 
MikeG said:
Good to know. Did you see the zoo's Tohoku Hares (Lepus brachyurus angustidens)?
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Yes I did: I saw three, all in winter coats. I had expected them to be more elusive so I had cut across to their enclosure early in the visit in case I'd have to return. Fortunately all three were sitting nicely in their enclosure - which is effectively an aviary twinned with another for a snowy owl.
 
Chlidonias said:
I don't suppose you made species lists at the zoos? That would be really interesting, as Japanese zoos aren't featured much on Zoochat.
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I don't really make species lists routinely any more but I'd be happy to list species for both zoos I visited. I'm happy to compile lists for any aquarium on request.
 
devilfish said:
I don't really make species lists routinely any more but I'd be happy to list species for both zoos I visited. I'm happy to compile lists for any aquarium on request.
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that'd be good for the zoos. I'm most interested in knowing which of more unusual species are kept of course (for example, I never would have expected New Caledonian Imperial Pigeons or Kagu!).

I don't keep lists for aquariums because it is too difficult, but I do for the zoos I visit because they are generally not zoos most other Zoochatters will be seeing. I really only do it for Zoochat purposes, not for my own sake because I only keep life-lists of wild animals.
 
Chlidonias said:
not for my own sake because I only keep life-lists of wild animals.
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Just out of curiosity Chlidonias, what is your avian and mammalian life lists currently at?

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
Just out of curiosity Chlidonias, what is your avian and mammalian life lists currently at?
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birds is 1464 species, mammals 237.

My list doesn't grow in relation to the number of trips I make because I keep going to Asia, so only a small percentage are new for each trip (e.g. in August I went to Vietnam, a country I had never been to before, and only 17 of the birds I saw were lifers). If I ever make it to Africa or South America almost everything would be new and my list would shoot upwards.

I just need 36 though to make an even 1500 birds, and I'll get those on my next trip. Mammals I would need 63 to make an even 250 which will be hard because Asian mammals don't like being seen and unlike the big-time mammal-watchers I don't trap rodents and bats to bulk up my numbers - that's mammal-trapping, not mammal-watching!
 
Chlidonias said:
birds is 1464 species, mammals 237.

My list doesn't grow in relation to the number of trips I make because I keep going to Asia, so only a small percentage are new for each trip (e.g. in August I went to Vietnam, a country I had never been to before, and only 17 of the birds I saw were lifers). If I ever make it to Africa or South America almost everything would be new and my list would shoot upwards.

I just need 36 though to make an even 1500 birds, and I'll get those on my next trip. Mammals I would need 63 to make an even 250 which will be hard because Asian mammals don't like being seen and unlike the big-time mammal-watchers I don't trap rodents and bats to bulk up my numbers - that's mammal-trapping, not mammal-watching!
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I think you should have more faith in reaching the next mammal target - assuming your mammal-watching skills are better than your maths... :p
 
oops, I meant 63 to reach 300 mammals, only 13 to reach 250 - so I should get to 250 on my next trip, but 300 will be a little way away yet.
 
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